John Mark Comer’s views align with key aspects of Open Theism, but it is not entirely clear whether he explicitly identifies as an Open Theist. His teachings reflect Open Theist tendencies, particularly in how he describes God’s relationship to time, human free will, and God’s openness to change and influence. Here’s a breakdown of the overlap and distinctions:
How Comer Aligns with Open Theism
God’s Knowledge of the Future:
- Open Theism teaches that God doesn’t know the future exhaustively because the future is open and dependent on human free will.
- Comer’s statements about God not having the future “set in stone” and being open to new ideas strongly echo this idea.
God’s Relational Nature:
- Open Theists emphasize God’s responsiveness and relational engagement with humans, often portraying Him as emotionally reactive.
- Comer’s description of God as “malleable,” open to change, and “processing emotions with us” aligns with this relational and dynamic view of God.
God’s Will and Evil:
- Open Theism distances God from direct causation of evil, emphasizing that God permits evil due to human free will.
- Comer similarly attributes evil to competing wills (human, satanic, chaotic), not to God’s direct or ultimate control.
Where Comer Might Differ from Open Theism
God’s Sovereignty:
- While Open Theists generally downplay God’s sovereignty over all events, Comer occasionally acknowledges that God can bring good out of evil. This leaves room for a less extreme view than full Open Theism.
Unclarified Theological Framework:
- Comer doesn’t explicitly affirm all tenets of Open Theism, such as the idea that God learns entirely new things or is limited in His power to influence certain outcomes.
- His writings and sermons are often less systematic than those of formal Open Theist theologians like Greg Boyd, making it hard to categorize him definitively.
Is Comer an Open Theist?
While Comer exhibits many characteristics of Open Theism, we cannot definitively label him as an Open Theist unless he explicitly aligns himself with the movement. However, his views clearly reflect significant Open Theist influences, particularly in:
- His rejection of God’s exhaustive foreknowledge.
- His portrayal of God as emotionally and relationally changeable.
- His emphasis on human free will as a limit to God’s control.
- His frequent admiration for the theology of Open Theist teachers such as Greg Boyd
Why This Matters
Identifying Comer’s theology as Open Theist or Open Theist-adjacent is important because Open Theism departs from the historic Christian understanding of God as revealed in Scripture and affirmed in the classical confessions of faith. Specifically:
- It challenges God’s sovereignty and omniscience as described in passages like Isaiah 46:10 (“declaring the end from the beginning”) and Psalm 139:16 (“all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”).
- It risks making God appear more like a creature, subject to time and human influence, rather than the transcendent Creator.
In conclusion, while John Mark Comer hasn’t explicitly declared himself an Open Theist, his teachings strongly align with the theology of Open Theism in several key ways. It would be fair to describe his views as Open Theist-leaning, but further clarification from Comer himself would be necessary for a definitive label.